Axl Rose Plots New Guns N’ Roses Album, Talks Band Reconciliation

As Guns N’ Roses kicks off a 12-show residency in Vegas this week, the press-shy Axl Rose opens up about his future and his infamous past. First came his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!last week– his first network TV interview in 20 years – and now Rose has spoken to USA Today about his plans for a new Guns N’ Roses album and the possibility of a truce among original band members.

In discussing new Guns N’ Roses music, Rose assured that a new album “will come out sooner” than 2008’s Chinese Democracy, which took Rose 15 years to make and is rumored to be the most expensive album ever produced (“there wasn’t anyone to work with or trust,” Rose said of the album).

“All the guys are writing, and we recorded a lot of songs over the years,” Rose said. “We’ll figure out what we feel best about. Chinese was done in piecemeal with one person here and one there at different times. Appetite for Destruction was the only thing written with lyrics and melody fitting the guitar parts at the same time. After that, I got a barrage of guitar songs that I was supposed to put words to, and I don’t know if that was the best thing for Guns. I do want to lean more toward lyrics and melody.”

As for Axl’s relationship with his former bandmates, he said that the “ball’s not in [his] court” regarding a truce among himself, Slash, Duff McKagan, Izzy Stradlin and Steven Adler. “I’m surviving this war, not the one who created this war.”

Additionally, Rose claims that between Slash, McKagan and his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour, he didn’t feel very confident about his songwriting abilities for a number of years.

“[They] did more damage to my ability as a writer,” Rose said. “To those three, it was all crap. It beat me down so much. At the time of the (Use Your Illusion) tours, Slash and Duff said, ‘You’re an idiot, you’re a loser.’ I didn’t write for years. I felt I was hindered for a very long time. I was also trying to figure out what I wanted to say, when it’s right to be venting and when you’re digging a bigger hole. Lyrics on Chinese took a long time.”

Check out the full Axl Rose interview here, in which he elaborates on his past and why he didn’t show up for Guns N’ Roses’ Rock Hall induction this past spring.